


Broken promises, burning flames

by MYuzuki



Series: No matter what’s in front of me (I’ll keep fighting til I’ve won) [7]
Category: Final Fantasy XV, Kingsglaive
Genre: Cor Leonis POV, Gen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Time Travel Fix-It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2020-09-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:08:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26247676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MYuzuki/pseuds/MYuzuki
Summary: Cor understands now, the sharp edge of Nyx Ulric's smile.
Series: No matter what’s in front of me (I’ll keep fighting til I’ve won) [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1897525
Comments: 7
Kudos: 144





	Broken promises, burning flames

**Broken promises, burning flames**

* * *

Luche Lazarus spills out the entire sordid tale between bouts of snarling insults and pleas for mercy, and once all is said and done Cor is sorely tempted to just toss the pathetic little worm out of the window to spare himself from having to listen to anymore self-righteous ranting.

In the end, he doesn't do that, though it's more because Monica would make _that face_ than for any real moral reason. There's also the fact that Regis and Clarus would probably like to question Lazarus themselves at some point, and the little shit being dead from a thirty-story fall would be somewhat counterproductive to that.

And, of course, there's the matter of Glauca.

Or rather, the matter of Titus Drautos. Commander of the Kingsglaive, and traitor to their kingdom.

Cor understands now, the sharp edge of Nyx Ulric's smile (the Glaive had belatedly introduced himself, once Lazarus had reached the part of his story that involved an assassination attempt in the middle of nowhere upon none other than Ulric himself) and the way he looks once split-second away from exploding into violence.

(There's something else about him, too, something that Cor can't quite put his finger on. It makes him wary even as it piques his curiosity. It's almost like the steady pulse of magic that Regis gives off sometimes, as if there's something burning just under Ulric's skin, wild and furious.

He doesn't have time to indulge in his curiosity about it right now, because he's got a tremendous, migraine-inducing mess of treason, subterfuge, and betrayal to untangle at the moment, but he makes a mental note to poke at the Glaive later for answers.)

Ultimately, Cor decides that the situation needs to be handled immediately; wait too long, after all, and Drautos - _Glauca_ \- would realize that something was amiss, that they were onto him. And then he would either slip out of Insomnia before they could catch him, or try to _fight_ his way out of Insomnia and leave a trail of bodies in his wake as he slaughtered his way to freedom.

Cor stands up from behind his desk, breathes through the sharp bite of betrayal tangled with failure because _he should have seen it_ , and calls for two of his most trusted Crownsguard operatives to escort Luche Lazarus to a highly secure prison cell.

"Now what," Nyx Ulric asks, although his tone is so flat that it's almost rhetorical.

"Now we deal with Drautos," Cor replies, ignoring the faint wince that Ulric's two companions give; Nyx, he notices, hadn't seemed surprised at anything Lazarus had divulged, not even the indisputably mind-boggling fact that Commander Titus Drautos of the Kingsglaive was in fact General Glauca of the Niflheim Empire.

(No, Nyx Ulric looks furious and heartbroken and unspeakably exhausted, but not once since coming into the room has he looked _surprised_.

Cor files that away for later consideration as well. It's not that he suspects that Ulric himself is a traitor, but there's obviously _something_ , something he can't put his finger on; it's like a puzzle with several key pieces missing, and Cor's never had a great deal of patience for puzzles. He prefers clarity, and straightforward problems with straightforward solutions.

So for now, he sets the puzzle aside and aims himself at the problem of General Glauca, who is apparently within the Citadel himself at this very moment, waylaid by another Glaive tasked with keeping the commander occupied while Ulric and his companions speak with Cor.)

Once the two Crownsguard members he'd asked for finally arrive, Cor orders for Luche Lazarus to be hauled away for further questioning, then eyes the Glaives remaining in his office. "The Crownsguard can handle things from here," he says, partially to give them an out if they want it but more to see what reaction his words will garner than anything.

He's not disappointed; the tall Glaive in the bloodstained uniform goes tense all over as if braced for a blow.

"No," he says, flat and firm and unyielding.

"No," Cor echoes, arching one brow questioningly.

"No," Nyx repeats, an implacable as a mountain, jaw clenching as his eyes flash with some powerful maelstrom of emotions. A moment of tense, awkward silence blankets the room as he seems to struggle for the right words, then, "I need to see this through to the end. Sir," he tacks on, as if belatedly recalling that Cor is the Marshal of the Crownsguard and outranks pretty much everyone in Insomnia other than the King and his Shield.

Cor lets the words sit there, hovering in the air between them even as the other two Glaives exchange vaguely uneasy looks behind their friend's back.

"Alright," he says at last, and notices the way a flicker of almost desperate relief passes across Ulric's face, only visible because he'd been watching for it. "Let's go and find Drautos, then."


End file.
